


what're you doin' tonight?

by LunchLich



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: ADHD Martin, Awkward Dates, First Dates, Flirting, M/M, Misunderstandings, Polyamorous Tim, neither of them know if its really a date and its a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunchLich/pseuds/LunchLich
Summary: He'd been trying to get a read on Tim for the past twenty-five minutes. Listening to the tone of his voice as he ordered drinks for them, watching his hands cup tightly around his beer. He couldn't for the life of him figure out if this was a date or not.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Tim Stoker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	what're you doin' tonight?

Martin considered himself to be... Decently alright at reading people. He tended to notice details others grazed over and reading body language became something of a necessity in his life. He could tell when any of his coworkers were anxious or frustrated, could connect how they flipped through files to how bad of a day they were having. And he could tell when they were happy, of course.

Any other emotion? He sucked at, apparently. 

He'd been trying to get a read on Tim for the past twenty-five minutes. Listening to the tone of his voice as he ordered drinks for them, watching his hands cup tightly around his beer. Over-analyzing every sentence of idle small talk. and carefully watching where his gaze fell. He couldn't for the life of him figure out if this was a date or not.

He thinks he might know what Tim's flirting looks like, unless he plays it up with his partners at the police records office. He gives flashy grins and leans over counters or desks to listen with his chin on his hand. He gives compliments out like business cards. He's never subtle with it and frankly, just how over the top he is can make it hard to watch.

He's snapped out of his focus when Tim asks him, "So? How's work treating you lately? Jon's not overworking you, is he?"

"Oh no, not at all. I'm not much busier than I was before, honestly. More fieldwork when it comes to research, but I don't mind it. Just means I get a chance to get out more. I get to talk to a lot of... Interesting people, too."

"Fair enough."

"What about you?"

"Same old, same old. Dealing with good ol' boss having a stick up his arse all day, every day." Tim shrugs a shoulder and takes a swig of his beer. His tongue swipes across his upper lip to clear foam that has been left behind, and Martin finds himself getting increasingly nervous about his expectations of this maybe-probably-not-date with how his eyes keep getting stuck on the other man's lips. "Paperwork. Filing. Collecting numbers. Practicing shady business tactics," He smiles.

"Could be worse then, I suppose?" Martin gives an uneasy chuckle when Tim only responds with a nod. "Was Sasha busy tonight?" They'd all gone out for drinks before, but it'd never been just the two of them. When Tim asked earlier that day if he wanted to get drinks, Martin was expecting another night at the pub with the three of them. Tim and Sasha would carry the conversation and he'd enjoy the company without having to solely entertain in a one on one meeting. If anything, it felt like Tim was dragging him along to be a wingman without informing him of the plan. Those were clear-cut not-dates. 

It only got complicated when Sasha left work that day and the two set off for the pub a couple of blocks away from the institute on their own. They'd walked side by side with their hands occasionally brushing against the other's as the street lights began to flicker on. Martin had assumed that Sasha had made other plans, or perhaps she had to run an errand before meeting with them.

"Nope."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"I'm surprised she didn't come with, then." Martin takes a drink and completely misses then flash of confusion, then realization, that passes over Tim's face. 

"I just wanted some one-on-one time with you, y'know? I don't know you as well as I'd like, and you deserve my full attention." Tim says nonchalantly as he leans back in his chair, rests his arm on the back with a grin. 

He wishes the alcohol would kick in just enough to relax the tense muscles in his back and release some of his anxiety. He's still relentlessly focused on figuring out Tim's intentions and losing some of his inhibitions right now sounds wonderful. He takes another sip and hopes the liquid courage will help him say something helpful. It doesn't. "That's... That's really nice of you. Thank you, Tim."

"'Course," He nods. "Sooo... Poetry is your poison, isn't it? I've heard you talking to Rosie about it. How'd you get into that?"

"Oh! Well. I guess I needed a... A creative outlet in secondary school? Around year ten or eleven. And poetry called to me. It's a very romantic art form. Or - it can be, I suppose. Sonnets and such. I typically write that sort of thing." He finds himself starting to ramble and decides it best to force his lips shut, and zip it.

Tim's eyebrows raise comically and he leans in again, chin on his hand and grinning like an idiot with his stupid, perfect teeth and lips that look so soft. "So you write romantic poems, eh? What about? Or should I say... Who?"

"It doesn't always have to be about someone in particular, you know. I could be about concepts or emotions, or... what you want, and not necessarily what you have."

"What do you want, then?"

"Tim," Martin sighs. It's exasperated and dramatic and accompanied by an eye roll. He prays that the playful chiding will throw him off course enough so that he doesn't press. Martin knows damn well he'll cave and tell him about all the cheesy poems he writes in his free time, if Tim truly wants to know. The charming bastard always seems to get what he wants, and perhaps Martin has a weak spot for it.

"Martin."

"It isn't any of your business, is it?" He peeks over his glass coyly when he takes another drink. He feels himself loosening up now, between the playful banter and the beer warming his belly.

"It could be my business." Tim leans in even further over the table when he says it, as if telling him a secret, and winks at him. 

"Tim are you- are you flirting?" He blurts out before nerves can come back to stop him. Although he may as well have asked if the sky was blue, or if water was wet. Of course Tim is flirting. He was giving all his tell-tale signs Martin thought were obvious, and he'd been blind to all of them up until now.

Tim sits back when he says that. He plays it off, leaning back cooly with his beer in hand. He catches the change in demeanour, though, and how Tim looks at him. He didn't catch the interested gaze until it was gone and replaced with something neutral as he... backed off? Recoiling when he's called out on his behaviour. "I think that's up for interpretation, Marto."

Oh, no. This was supposed to be a date. "It's okay if it- if it is flirting. You know that, right?" 

He perks up like a puppy being offered a treat. It's quite cute, Martin thinks. He turns to fully face him straight on again, eyes wide and twinkling. The poor man has been trying to flirt this whole time, and every time Martin says something that could be interpreted as deflection. "Are you sure? I thought you'd changed your mind."

Martin covers his face in his hands. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he scolds himself. "It's been a date this whole time, hasn't it?" He groans. "I'm an idiot."

After a few seconds, Tim reaches out, gently moves his hands away from his face, and holds them tenderly in his own instead. He runs his thumb over his knuckles as he speaks. "You're not an idiot. I wasn't- I wasn't very clear when I asked you, was I? I could have been more obvious. I should have said, 'oh, Martin my dearest, let us link arms and skip gayly into the sunset to the pub." He chuckles.

He laughs, though he's sure his cheeks have turned a bright, blotchy pink by now. He's embarrassed and verging on buzzed and his heart is working overtime, beating so fast he can feel it in his chest. "I... Yes, you could have. Still! The context clues were there!"

"I thought you just weren't into it and had said yes to be nice."

"God, no. I've just got a thick skull and didn't want to make assumptions." He laughs. Tim looks so genuinely happy with this development and he feels... incredibly appreciated. The way Tim's looking at him makes him feel warm and tingly all over, and he hopes Tim feels the same right now. He hopes he makes Tim feel like this just by looking at him. "If it makes you feel any better it's- it's been a good date? even if I didn't know it?"

"Does that mean I could get a chance at another?" He wiggles his eyebrows and purses his lips at him comically. "Eh?"

"Only if you tell me it's a date next time."


End file.
